There wasn?t enough time for everyone to hang around, so the team split up into two groups. Momiji, Mokou and Sakuya headed for the Bunbunmaru, while Koishi and Sango got Komachi up to speed before taking on the judge. Momiji had given them a spare Ring of Breath as they?d left, and Komachi had put it on without really knowing why she had to.
Komachi was skeptical to start, but the sight of the general populace served a big part in convincing her. For a few minutes she did little beyond pointing out the curious hair colours of passers-by. After the twentieth teenage boy with bright blue hair, the point had been made.
From that point on, she was surprisingly receptive of the facts. The hunt for the Teardrops, the War of Catalysm, even the idea of having her own powers. Koishi explained what she had seen Komachi do, and the lawyer nodded along with it.
?Yeah, I was wonderin? how I did that. I mean, no matter how fast you are, you?ve got no right dodgin? a bullet from point-blank range.?
When they were a block away from the court, the conversation shifted to a darker tone.
?So, Eiki,? Komachi started, turning to Koishi with trembling eyes. ?You can fix her, right??
Koishi frowned. ?I can remove the mindcoil, but I can?t erase what she?s done. If the truth about that protest comes to light-?
?Yeah, I get it.? Komachi nodded, like she?d been expecting that answer to begin with. ?She?ll be kicked outta court faster than you can say ?miscarriage of justice?.?
Koishi couldn?t say that particularly quickly, but she got the point. Komachi took a moment to steel herself before she started walking towards the court.
?How?re we getting in?? Sango asked. ?I?m gonna assume they won?t just let you through the front door.?
?Fire escape,? Komachi answered. ?They probably haven?t thought of that. It?s locked, see.?
She led Koishi and Sango around the side of the building. The police had dispersed by now, but there was no promise that the security inside would be willing to let people just waltz by. The fire escape was thankfully unmanned, and Komachi led the trio as they made their way up.
?She had someone else with her,? Komachi said as she climbed the steps, stepping quietly to avoid being overheard. ?Some tanned chick wearing a buncha silver.?
?I?ll take care of her,? Sango answered, more serious than Koishi had seen her in a while. Sango had explained the whole shark issue to her a while ago, but she?d never realised how seriously she was taking it.
When they reached the second floor of the fire escape, Komachi shuffled through her keys. Koishi counted at least two dozen of them on her ring. With only a moment?s thought, she pulled out one and placed it in the lock. The door opened with a satisfying click.
?Working right under the head judge has some nice benefits,? she said with a wink.
The judge?s office was on the other side of this floor. They had made it past most of the guards on the bottom floor, but there was no guarantee that these floors were safe either. The trio stepped carefully, hanging to every wall and keeping as quiet as they could.
Sango was the first to hear it.
?Koishi-san, listen.?
Koishi did as she was told, taking a moment to focus on her surroundings. She picked it up - faint, slow breathing coming from the next corridor. It sounded strained, like with every breath the owner of the voice was fighting the urge to scream.
She poked her head around the corner. The shark girl, Jozu, was standing between them and the door to the judge?s office. Her eyes fell onto Jozu?s shoulder right away - blood had soaked right through her jacket, and she was still gripping at the wound with her other hand.
?Oh, right.? Komachi chuckled. ?That?s my fault.?
Rather than congratulating her for getting rid of a problem, Sango rewarded Komachi with a stern glare. The ex-Red Lily stepped back.
?Isn?t that a good thing, Sango-san?? Koishi asked. ?Now she?s not a problem.?
?I know, but...? Sango put her forehead against the wall, gritting her teeth. She stepped out into the corridor. Koishi was too slow to grab her as she stepped out into the open.
Jozu looked up to her, forcing a grin. Her teeth were terribly sharp.
?You again. I?m afraid...something has come up. I?m a little preoccupied right now.?
She winced. That bullet wound probably hurt like hell. Sango took a deep breath, then pointed her thumb down the corridor.
?Get outta here. Come back when you?re ready to fight.?
Jozu?s eyes widened in surprise at first, but slowly a look of gratitude rose to her face. She nodded, stumbling past Sango and towards the entrance.
?You gonna get out okay?? Sango asked.
?I presume you and your friends will give me enough of a distraction,? Jozu answered.
With that she was gone, walking down the corridor with a hand still pressed against her shoulder. Koishi didn?t move until the shark was out of sight.
?Well, that was sorta dumb, wasn?t it?? Komachi said, still looking in the direction Jozu had fled. ?Couldn?t you have just taken her prisoner or somethin???
Sango shook her head. ?She?s not like the rest of the Claw. She plays fair, and she deserves better than that.?
Komachi shrugged. Given the mad world she?d been flung into in the last half hour, she was willing to leave a lot of questions unasked.
As they stepped towards the door, they found Eiki?s voice much easier to make out than her bodyguard?s.
?What do you mean she?s not at home? I want you to make a full scan of the perimeter right now. Leave no stone unturned, no lead unfollowed. If you don?t come back with Komachi, you may as well sign yourself up for unemployment. I want her head on a goddamn platter, you hear me?!?
The sheer anger charging through her voice was a far cry from the well-spoken woman Koishi had seen on the news. Komachi seemed to deflate just from the sound of it, looking to Koishi for a sign to step in.
Koishi nodded.
When the trio stepped into the room, they found Eiki standing at the distant wall. Her desk had been tipped, and a broken bottle lay across the floor. Glass shards had dug into Eiki?s legs, but she paid them no mind.
There was a gun in her hand.
She turned as the door creaked open, hanging up the phone and throwing it away. It crashed into the wall, falling to pieces.
?Ah, there you are!? Eiki grinned, with a smile Koishi had never seen on a sane human being. ?So you?ve turned yourself in. Good to see that some of my influence has rubbed off on you.?
Koishi recognised the symptoms - more than anything, the lack of any sort of light in her eyes. Her guess had been dead-on.
?Eiki, listen to me,? Komachi said, stepping out into the room. ?You?re very sick right now, and this girl is going to help you...?
?Sick? Sick?!? The gun was raised, pointed right at Komachi?s head. ?Oh, but I?m the only one who
isn?t sick! I?m the one helping you, Komachi. Why don?t you understand that??
Komachi?s voice dropped to a cool fury.
?Eiki. Put the gun down, right now.?
Eiki answered by pulling the trigger.
It happened too quickly for Koishi?s eyes to follow. Komachi had taken a small step to the left, and suddenly she had crossed half of the room. The bullet lodged itself harmlessly in the wall behind her.
?What?!?
Eiki turned and fired at her again. This time Komachi moved forward, and by the time Eiki was lining up the third shot Komachi was inches away from her. With a smack at the wrist, she knocked the gun from the judge?s hand.
?It?s over, Eiki. It?s all over.?
Eiki?s eyes jumped between Komachi and the gun. It was kicked away before she could grab it. She stepped backwards, putting her back to the window, as a wicked laugh began to heave out from her chest.
?Over? Heh...hahaha...you?re wrong, Komachi.?
She flicked the window open, the wind blowing into the room. They were on the second story, and there was no balcony.
By the time Komachi realised Eiki was falling backwards, it was already too late.
?It?s only just begun!?
Koishi could only watch in shock as Eiki tipped backwards, throwing herself out of the window behind her. What was she doing? None of the Mindcoil victims had ever tried to kill themselves before.
When she saw a golden key in the judge?s hand, she understood.
?EIKI!?
Komachi screamed as she leaped towards the window, but even with her newfound speed she wasn?t fast enough. She turned away, unable to bring herself to watch the judge turned into a fine paste on the ground.
Koishi had no such concern, pulling her head out and looking down. She caught the moment when Eiki plunged the key into her own chest, twisting just over where her heart was.
She stopped in midair as the key shone gold. The gold gave way to black, and Eiki was consumed in an orb of darkness. Komachi mustered up the nerve to look down at her, and the sight stunned her into silence.
When the orb began to break apart, Eiki kept herself aloft with her newfound wings.
She came up to the window, wings flapping behind her like she?d had them all her life. Both of them were perfectly kept, one black and the other white. She wore the long, dark-blue robe of a judge, but dozens of golden medals were scattered across it. Her hair was a brilliant green, running long on one side of her face but short on the other. Her dark blue eyes looked down on Komachi with a hint of pride.
?Shall we take this elsewhere??
She clicked her fingers, and in an instant all four of them disappeared.
-----
When Koishi?s eyes came back into focus, a cloud was passing by her face.
Her head spun, and as she looked down the feeling only grew worse. A transparent floor was all that stood between her and a long plummet to earth. She pulled her head away from the sight, looking around the room instead.
She stood behind a defendant?s bench, with Komachi and Sango alongside her. The benches were made of marble, a brilliant white flooding Koishi?s vision. There were no walls, no ceiling, no prosecutor, and no defense attorney.
There was only the judge, standing tall at her bench, a gavel in her hand.
?Welcome to the court of utopia. This is where I, the Judge of Paradise, will carry out your sentences.?
Komachi was already leaping over the bench, but stopped halfway when she saw that there was no floor on the other side. She stood on the bench, looking up at Eiki with a growl.
?You stand accused of crimes too numerous to count, but beyond all of them you have committed the gravest of sins - acting against me, the one true holder of the law.?
Eiki raised her gavel, her eyes brimming with righteous indignation.
?None of you shall ascend this day. Your vile souls will
pave the depths of Hell!?
As she slammed her gavel down on the bench, Koishi felt the floor give way.
?Watch out!?
Sango grabbed Koishi by the hand, hauling her up onto the bench before her rider began to fall. Komachi stayed in place, staring down Eiki without a hint of fear.
Eiki frowned. ?So you refuse even to go along with my sentence? I had hoped to end this painlessly, but if you force my hand I have no choice but to serve as judge, jury...?
She rose up into the air, soaring above the court. Her gavel extended, growing to become a full-blown quarterstaff. It started white at one end but darkened to black at the other.
?And executioner!?She swooped down, bringing the staff towards Komachi?s head. The lawyer ducked faster than her reflexes should have allowed, and Eiki flew above her as her attack struck nothing.
?Alright, time to see if you?ve been makin? stuff up,? Komachi muttered, pulling out her Teardrop. Koishi nodded, pulling out her own and demonstrating.
?Wherever evil forces be,
On the land or in the sea,
All who sin should cower and flee
From Dolphin Rider Koishi!?For all of her chanting and her transforming, Koishi had to admit she was in a rough position. The chant talked about enemies on land and at sea, but it didn?t mention anything about the air.
?Sango-san, you can?t swim in the sky, right?? she asked as the trident emerged in her hand.
?Phwee? Why would I be able to do that??
It was worth asking.
By then, Eiki was heading down for another swoop. Koishi brought her trident up to block the attack coming her way, looking to Komachi.
?Your turn, Komachi-san!?
Komachi took a moment to grimace at Koishi?s outfit, but eventually lifted her own Teardrop into the air.
?Death and life have their determined appointments.?The Teardrop shone at first, but a purple mist seeped out of it, surrounding Komachi and covering her from view.
?I am the ferryman, the Lady of the Sanzu River.?
With the sound of a gunshot, the mist dispersed. The figure within was definitely Komachi, but there was a new devilish glint in her eye. A long black coat hung over her, with a white tank-top and worn jeans underneath. Her belt was covered in pouches, with a coin emblem in the centre. But most impressive of all was the gun she was wielding - with the size of a shotgun but the shape of a revolver, she pointed it into the air. The barrel smouldered as the last hints of mist faded away.
?I?m the Red Lily. Death is my business, and business is pleasure.?
She didn?t skip a beat when Eiki came down on her again. She brought the gun up to meet her, cocking it in one hand.
?Titanic, fire!?
As she pulled the trigger, the blast was strong enough that Koishi almost lost her balance on the bench. A bullet plowed through the air at breakneck speed, aimed straight at one of Eiki?s wings. Feathers burst out in all directions as it made contact, Eiki?s swoop breaking to the side at the last minute.
Komachi smirked as she blew the smoke away from the tip of her gun. There hadn't been an ounce of recoil.
?Whoa...? Koishi looked on in awe. ?Komachi-san, you?re really getting into this.?
Komachi shrugged. ?Well, being Eiki?s assistant gave me a lotta downtime, and I kinda have a thing for Westerns...?
Eiki?s left wing had lost some of its strength, and she could no longer fly at full speed. She pulled back, stepping onto the judge?s bench and holding her staff above her head.
?Is there no end to your foolishness? Accept your punishment with dignity!? She threw it towards the witness bench, spinning as it flew. Koishi leapt to the side, flinging herself onto the defense attorney?s bench. Sango landed beside her, teeth grit as she looked up at the judge.
?There?s no way I can hit her from that distance!? the dolphin groaned.
Koishi raised her trident. ?That?s my job.? She pointed it at Eiki, balls of light forming at the tips. Eiki looked down at her, raising a single eyebrow.
?Iruka Beam!?The laser burst outward, aiming for Eiki?s other wing. The judge jumped to the side, well out of the way of the attack. Koishi grimaced - the Iruka Beam wasn?t made to curve. Eiki looked down at her with a hint of smugness.
?Not so fast!?
Komachi called out from the other side of the room, where she?d taken refuge on the prosecutor?s bench. Koishi saw her reach forward, clasping at the air with her fist, then pulling it to the right.
In time with her movements, Koishi?s beam bent to the side.
?Wha-?
Eiki leaped over the beam, but it clipped at her wing on the way over. She landed hard, more of her feathers fluttering down to earth. Koishi looked to Komachi, as surprised as the judge was.
?What was that??
?Hell if I know,? Komachi answered. ?All I know is that it worked.?
Eiki rose to her feet again, livid at the two Sirens. Her staff returned to her, and as soon as she had a grasp on it she smacked the tip into the bench.
The marble began to darken and crumble, and before long the bench was falling to the earth below.
?Court is dismissed!?
Now Koishi began to
really worry. If Eiki could destroy the benches just by touching them, she couldn?t let the judge come close. She brought the trident up again, ready to swipe at Eiki when she came down.
The judge had taken to the air again after destroying her own foothold. Komachi?s gun was primed to bring her down, and she lined up the shot as Eiki swooped down towards the defendant?s bench.
?Fire!?
The bullet came charging out, but this time Eiki was out of the way. The shot flew right past her - and right towards Koishi.
?Watch it!?
Komachi clasped her fist shut, and at her will the bullet stopped in midair. She flung it to the side, sending it careening into the distance.
?Sorry!? she yelled across the benches. ?This thing is hard to aim.?
Koishi wasn?t exactly comforted by the claim. She felt her pulse quicken as Eiki?s staff tapped at the empty bench, and another foothold fell away.
The judge turned towards them with a blank stare and a wicked grin. Her wings flapped out of time with one another.
?So which of the infidels wants to be executed first?!?
She sent the staff spinning through the air towards the prosecutor?s bench. Komachi primed herself, readying the Titanic to shoot it out of the sky.
It broke to the side at the last minute, catching Sango square in the chest.
?Phweeeeeeee!?
The dolphin lost her balance on the marble bench as the staff slammed into her. It knocked her backwards, off of the bench and down towards the distant earth.
?SANGO-SAN!?
Koishi?s scream went unanswered. Sango fell out of sight within seconds, nothing coming between her and a grisly end.
Koishi held an arm out where Sango had been. The world grew misty as tears came to her eyes. All the while, Eiki was laughing maniacally about how the sinner had finally been judged.
The sorrow overwhelmed her, filling her up until there was no room left. What remained spilled out, taking the form of anger instead.
She looked up towards Eiki, a new fire blazing in her eyes. Things had just got personal.
The staff was her way in. As it flew back towards Eiki it tapped at the bench, taking Koishi?s foothold apart. She leaped forward as the marble crumbled, grabbing for the staff twirling through the air. She caught it in one hand, spinning around along with it, never letting her eyes drift to the monumental drop beneath her.
Eiki gasped. She hadn?t seen this coming. She tried to fly out of the way, but the staff did its job and returned to its master. Koishi wrapped her arms around the judge?s waist, holding on for dear life.
?Now, Komachi-san!?
She?d managed to weigh the judge down. Now Komachi had all the time she needed to line up her final shot. She cocked the Titanic, aiming it at the stronger wing of the two.
The bullet pierced the wing cleanly, sending another spray of feathers flying about. Eiki winced in pain as the shot struck her, her wings flapping madly to keep her in the air. If she didn?t have Koishi clinging onto her, she might have managed it, too.
?N-No! I?m...I?m falling!?
Eiki dropped the staff, waving her arms about in a desperate attempt to keep herself airborne, but her wings could no longer supply the power they needed. She began to spiral downwards, Koishi still holding onto her.
?Komachi-san, get on!?
Eiki was their ticket to a safe landing. Komachi nodded, leaping off the last bench of her own free will. She reached terminal velocity quickly, while Eiki was still trying to cushion her fall. Komachi grabbed the judge by the wings, holding her down and stopping her last attempt at resistance. She was reduced to babbling about justice and retribution, but her words fell on deaf ears.
A dot came into view beneath them.
?Sango-san!?
Koishi made out her partner?s form, still flailing about as she fell helplessly to earth. She leaned Eiki down against her will, trying to pick up speed.
Sango came no closer, but the ground did.
No!There wasn?t anything she could do, she realised. Sango was going to die, and she could only watch it happen. She turned about, looking to Komachi for any sort of help.
She saw the lawyer staring at Sango with the utmost focus.
?W...What are you...??
Komachi didn?t answer. The winds battered her face, but her eyes never shifted. She raised one hand above her head, gritting her teeth. Only her flimsy grip on Eiki was keeping her from falling to her own death.
?To hell with terminal velocity!?
As she brought her hand down, Eiki picked up speed that she physically shouldn?t have had. She yelled as the city came closer and closer, and Sango began to grow in their vision.
Komachi was manipulating the distance between them and Sango. From the beads of sweat dripping down her face it was no simple task, but she barely blinked as she continued her work. Sango was the size of Koishi?s pinky, then her hand, then her arm, until finally they had managed to catch up with her.
?Koishi-saaaaan!?
Sango?s face was wet. She had been crying the whole way down. She reached an arm out towards Koishi, kicking through the air to bring herself closer. Koishi stretched out as far as she could manage, grimacing as she pushed her muscles as far as they were willing to go.
Her pain was rewarded with Sango?s fingers sliding along hers, until finally their hands linked. Immediately she pulled the dolphin in, wrapping an arm around her to be safe. She squeezed the dolphin, embracing her as tightly as she could with her spare hand. Sango wrapped her arms around Koishi?s waist, almost choking the life out of her.
?Time to pull this bird up!?
Komachi brought her arm back down and pulled backwards, bringing Eiki parallel to the ground. The wind billowed beneath her wings with such force that feathers were snapping off, but their descent was slowing down. All they had to do now was find a place to land.
The sea was the easy answer, and it was a big enough target that they had no need to worry about missing.
Koishi clung on with her spare hand as Komachi brought them down towards the water. The judge?s wings were a shadow of their former selves, the last few feathers falling away as they came to the surface of the water. Koishi tensed, and as the sea slammed into her face she became aware this was an excellent move.
She twirled around under the water, needing a moment to get her bearings. As soon as she?d figured out which way was up, she looked around for the others. Eiki was closest to her, hanging limp in the water. The crash must have knocked her out. Tiny bubbles slipped out of her mouth as she started to sink down towards the seabed.
?Uh-oh!?
Koishi wrapped her arms around the judge, trying to lift her to the surface. Eiki was heavier than she looked, and Koishi couldn?t lift her up at any great speed.
When Komachi came from the other side and did her share of the lifting, they made it to the surface in a matter of seconds.
?Haah, hah...?
As Koishi broke the surface with Eiki in tow, she took a moment to catch her breath. She looked up at the sky, at the clouds fluttering carelessly above her. It was hard to think that she?d been up there all of five minutes ago, and harder still to think that she had survived the descent.
?Hm??
Sango was hugging her by the waist, trembling and shivering.
?U-Uuuu...I?m pretty sure that?s a solid reason for a fear of heights...?
Koishi reached back with one hand and patted the dolphin on the head. For a moment Koishi thought she had lost her, but Komachi had managed to do the impossible and save her from becoming a dolphin pancake.
?How?s she looking, Komachi-san?? she asked.
Komachi put her ear beside Eiki?s mouth, nodding. ?She?s breathing, but we?d better get her to shore fast. We?re all gonna catch a cold otherwise.?
?Oh, I can help with that!? Sango?s face lit up as she dipped under the water. Shifting into her dolphin form, she slid underneath Eiki and started pulling her along, giving Koishi and Komachi a burst of speed at the same time.
Komachi started. ?Huh. So she really is a dolphin.?
Koishi stuck out her tongue. ?Didn?t she explain all of this earlier??
?Yeah, but...?
The complaint died in her throat. Komachi sighed, getting back to kicking.
?Well, I guess it isn?t the strangest thing I?ve seen today...?
